Review on Nanotechnology Applications in Nuclear Energy

Abstract

Today, the need to transition away from our reliance on fossil fuels is growing increasingly urgent. Although the expansion of renewable energy and nuclear fusion & fission will likely be keys to achieving this goal, this rollout isn’t happening fast enough to avoid catastrophic damages to societies and natural ecosystems in the near future. The use of the latest engineered nanomaterials in nuclear energy systems has opened doors for improving the performance and safety of nuclear power. Nuclear Nano Technology (NNT) deals with the use of the engineered nanomaterials & nano fluids for future nuclear energy applications. This literature review summarizes the recent and ongoing research in labs around the world on Nuclear Nano-Technology development, focusing on the use of nanomaterials in area of the phase change materials for enhancing their thermal conductivity and efficiency, nuclear fuel manufacturing, and their capacity for the improvement of the safety and performance of the future generation nuclear reactors, cladding for increasing safety and fuel burnup, structural material in nuclear reactors structures and reduce radiation effects.